A domain name consists of one or more labels, each of which is formed from the set of ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens (a-z, A-Z, 0-9, -), but not starting or ending with a hyphen. The labels are case-insensitive; for example, 'label' is equivalent to 'Label' or 'LABEL'. In the textual representation of a domain name, the labels are separated by a full stop (period).

HostGator often offers promotions, coupons and special offers to customers during their initial term. Please note that special offers are limited-time promotional prices that are available to new customers and are valid for the Initial Term only, and not for successive or renewal periods. Promotional rates apply to GATOR, Shared, Cloud, VPS, Dedicated, WordPress and Reseller hosting plans and will automatically renew after initial term at regular rate found in your control panel. Note: If you register a free domain through us and wish to cancel your account, there is a fee to retain your domain.

If you are looking for a TLD other than those listed above, our DNS services support domains in almost every TLD, as long as the registry and your registrar will delegate the domain for our nameservers. Domain Transfers are a one-time fee, priced at the one (1) year rate for the appropriate Top Level Domain and include an automatic one-year extension of the domain's expiration upon completion of the transfer.
Once you've wisely determined that building a website is an essential part of your business, you need to make another important decision, even before you consult our roundup of the best web hosting services: What's your domain name going to be? You know, it's the [yoursitename].com web address by which all your (hopefully) many customers will find you. Furthermore, how do you go about staking your claim for it? Purchasing a name is a relatively simple process (although finding one that isn't already taken can be a challenge), but there are many factors that you should consider. Since your domain name is, in effect, the name of your website, you want to make sure you get a good one. But what makes a good one? And since it's also the address of your website, you want to make sure you understand the contract between you and the domain name registrar. Is it starting to sound a little more complicated? Don't worry: This primer can help you get started.
During the 32nd International Public ICANN Meeting in Paris in 2008,[10] ICANN started a new process of TLD naming policy to take a "significant step forward on the introduction of new generic top-level domains." This program envisions the availability of many new or already proposed domains, as well as a new application and implementation process.[11] Observers believed that the new rules could result in hundreds of new top-level domains to be registered.[12] In 2012, the program commenced, and received 1930 applications.[13] By 2016, the milestone of 1000 live gTLD was reached.
Premium domains (also known as aftermarket or pre-registered domains) are short domains, often just one word or even just 3-5 letters. Most of them have a .com extension but many premium domains end with .org, .net, and .biz. These domains include common words and are generally the most memorable. Because companies value short domains that match their company name or products, these domains are typically the most desirable. Additionally, certain domains sold by different registries are considered premium and therefore have a higher price point. In some cases, the renewal costs of these higher-priced domains are also quite expensive. Some high-priced premium domains, though, renew at a regular (lower cost) rate, giving you a better value in the long term. Make sure to research the overall cost of the domain plus renewal to find the right domain for your budget. You can browse Namecheap's premium domains in our Marketplace.